Hileena Eshetu and Mark Blackett from Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance AMEA explain how cooperatives benefit smallholder farmers. There are an estimated 525 million smallholder farmers globally – producing one third of the world’s food. Helping farmers and agribusinesses to be as professional as possible could increase incomes, create resilience to shocks and provide access pathways for smallholder famers to bigger business supply chains. Forming cooperatives can be a successful way to help make this happen.
Mark Blackett and Hileena Eshetu, from Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA), share insights into what makes up successful agribusiness alliances, how cooperatives benefit smallholder farmers, before delving into the difficulties all involved have in ensuring their success and sustainability. Be ready for practical ways to scale and support smallholder farmers and supply chains alike.
Mark is AMEA’s Network Director whilst Hileena is their Ethiopia Regional Network Facilitator. During this conversation Mark advocates for better collaboration between agribusinesses, finance, NGOs and the public sector – sharing practical examples and advice for successful, sustainable agribusiness. Hileena in turn advocates that “AMEA exists because the current approaches [to smallholder farmer cooperatives] are very fragmented; Bringing everyone together and formulating solutions collectively must be the way forward.”
Together they dive into what needs to be in place for smallholder farmers to become climate change resilient and suggest ways for agri-businesses of all sizes to build the fundamentals of climate preparedness.
Link
An integrated food system to ensure sustainable rice for all
If you liked this try:
https://businessfightspoverty.org/a-new-dawn-for-women-smallholders-in-india/
https://businessfightspoverty.org/agribusiness-and-climate-change-the-smart-way-forward/
